


Numquid Et Vos Vubere Me (Will You Marry Me)

by iamtheoneinthehole



Series: Animi, Animus et Anima [4]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-29
Updated: 2014-03-29
Packaged: 2018-01-17 12:09:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1387108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamtheoneinthehole/pseuds/iamtheoneinthehole
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gavin Free had a problem…</p>
            </blockquote>





	Numquid Et Vos Vubere Me (Will You Marry Me)

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this is part four of the ‘Animi, Animus et Anima’ series (soulmate AU) and has been written in tribute to the fact that, as of today, gay marriage is officially legalized in the UK. This is a huge positive step forward and gives me hope that one day the only thing that’ll be said about anyone in love is how bloody adorable they are. Love is love, congratulations to all of the couples in Britain today who are finally getting the chance to ‘officiate’ theirs.

Gavin Free had a problem.

It’d all started out when he’d been supposed to be working on editing a video for Lindsay since he’d bet her this week’s editing that he could make it through a whole Let’s Build with Geoff without the two of them slipping into their mind bond… And in the end, they had lasted a good fifteen minutes. Lindsay had even admitted to being impressed but… that still wasn’t the full video’s worth of content he’d promised her and so he was stuck on editing duty for the week… which, honestly, he didn’t really mind too much since he had his bondmates’ voices echoing in his head to spur him on (well, mostly to distract him but it was the thought counted right?).

He’d just reached a point in the footage where they were all actually talking out loud, and some of the footage matching up with it was bloody gold, and Gavin honestly felt like he was on a roll with editing this together when suddenly…

_Hey Gav, did you hear the news about the bonding equality laws they were trying to put in back in England?_

_...Wait, did they actually bloody pass it?_

_According to the article I just read._

_No bloody way! ...Can you forward me the link?_

_Already sent it._

_Thanks Ryan._

He’d faintly registered the voices of their other boyfriends chiming in as they’d tuned into the conversation he and Ryan had been having before, his focus for once drawn elsewhere than the voices in his head as he’d read through the article Ryan had linked him to… and for a long moment he’d stared at the words in front of him incomprehensibly as he’d tried to allow the information laid out in front of him to fully sink in...

And suddenly, the revelation had hit that as of a few months from then, if and when they did have the ceremony to celebrate their soul bond, it’d actually be accepted as a fully fledged marriage rather than just a ‘soul partnership’ in his hometown, the way it’d started to be in certain parts of the states.

They were finally making that leap to recognize all bondmates equally bloody deserving of the chance to put their names together on a flimsy piece of paper if they wanted to. It was finally  _finally_  happening…

_I can’t bloody believe this, this is bloody top!_

_Yeah it is, the world’s finally fucking changing._

_Maybe it’ll happen in Austin soon too._

_Seriously fucking doubt that but… its a start._

_Yeah it is… and about goddamn time it happened too._

There’d been a few shared smiles and a sense of hope as they’d gotten back to work on their respective projects, the topic being discussed switching to something about a new game that Ray had just started playing and, eventually, the article had been all but forgotten, even though the sense of contentedness it’d induced within them carried through for the rest of the day.

It’d only been hours later, when Gavin was having trouble sleeping for some reason, that he’d suddenly realized why it was in particular that he’d been so bloody excited about this happening  _now_ …

Because he’d always wanted to marry his boys, ever since he’d been a kid with four then five voices in his head, but had almost believed he wouldn’t live to see the day that he’d actually be able to call what they had ‘marriage’ instead of ‘partnership’ in the eyes of the law, despite the fact that he felt for his bondmates just as strongly as any heterosexual bond match (perhaps even stronger than most given the advance levels of psychic connection he knew he shared with his bondmates).

But he’d been wrong to fear that and now he could marry his boys… and the knowledge that he could seemed to have planted the idea firmly within the Brit’s chest because suddenly it’d become pretty bloody clear that he didn’t just want to marry them, he wanted to marry them as soon as bloody possible…

And so Gavin Free had a problem… because how the hell was he meant to keep those kinds of thoughts a secret from the men in his life that could, quite literally, read his mind.

Of course he knew by this point that he was, potentially, capable of blocking them out of his head but… well, that opened up a can of worms to a time that they were all just desperately trying to forget ever actually bloody happened in the first place. No, Gavin had shut his boys out once before, long enough for all of them to decide that doing so was no longer an option, no matter how you felt or what stuff was running through your head, they’d help you through it.

And most of the time, Gavin loved that, especially since a part of him had been halfway convinced he’d never feel it again after he’d shut his boys out the first time, but it made keeping secrets from his boys a little… well impossible really. For example, they always knew which presents they’d gotten each other for birthdays and Christmas long before the actual present giving rolled around that year and it’d actually gotten to the point now where half of them didn’t actually bother with wrapping paper because of it.

And it did also have its positives like when, because of it, they’d know that Ryan had been suffering from a particularly heavy bout of insomnia but hadn’t wanted to ‘bother’ his boys by letting them know about it, or that Jack had just had a run in with one of his old so called ‘friends’ who apparently still had issues with the idea of a six way gay bondmate relationship… in that case it hadn’t been so much that Jack had wanted to keep the incident a secret as that he hadn’t exactly wanted to relive the moment while the hurt was still raw. Thankfully, they’d known enough not to ask any questions but just to hold the man a little tighter when he’d gotten into their shared apartment that night.

All the same though, the fact remained that keeping any kind of secret from his boys for any long periods of time was almost impossible which made surprisingly his bondmates with a sudden proposal… a challenge to put things lightly. But, then again, Gavin David Free never had been the type to back down from one of those had he?

\----

Step one, of course, was trying to figure out how exactly to pop the question. He couldn’t just do it out of the blue after all, he had to put at least a little thought into it given that this would be something he and his boys would remember for the rest of their lives and god knows they’d never let the Brit live it down if he somehow managed to screw it all up…

So, naturally, he’d shown up at Griffon’s one night with a slightly wild and panicked look in his eyes as he’d babbled about rings and romance and how the hell did all of this bloody work and it’d taken a good few minutes for the woman to actually calm him down enough for the words to actually start coming out coherently and Griffon to start nodding in understanding, a smile curling the corners of her lips as she’d told Gavin, without missing a beat, that he was still just as much of a dumbass as when she’d first met him but that she’d help him plan things if he really thought he needed her advice.

They’d spent the next few hours kicking ass and taking names at Halo while they’d talked about rings and timing and whether Gavin wanted to take them out for a meal beforehand, or maybe organize some kind of romantic declaration. Which had, naturally, sent the Brit into another spiral of panic, because what the hell was he meant to do for one of those, that’d internalized itself enough to alert his bondmates…

And after that he’d had to spend a good ten minutes trying to explain his way out of giving away exactly what he was planning here, meanwhile Griffon sat on the couch next to him and laughed like the bloody useless friend she was, obviously knowing exactly what is was he’d inadvertently done here.

Eventually his boyfriends had turned their attention elsewhere and he’d been able to focus his attention back on Griffon who’d then just told him that the thing that mattered most here was that Gavin was himself with all this; because he was the one they were bonded to, he was the one they loved, he was a part of them… and so whatever he did, whatever he said, they’d love it.

\----

The next day, he’d commenced with phase two of his plan, a phase which involved subtly, finesse and a negotiated distraction with Lindsay to keep his boys occupied at the office while the Brit just so happened to take an extra long lunch break… and just so happened to stop at another shop that wasn’t the coffee shop he frequented for their (bloody top) muffins along the way.

Ultimately, it’d taking a lot of indecisive decision making (and quite a few calls to Griffon for second opinion) until Gavin had finally settled on the rings he wanted to get his boys. In the end, he’d settled on simple gold bands with different words engraved into each of them.  _Mea Bellator_  for Michael,  _Mea Rosa_  for Ray,  _Mea Fortitudo_  for Geoff,  _Mea Demens Rex_  for Ryan and  _Mea Soles_  for Jack. The woman serving him had promised they’d be ready within the week and had even given him a discount on the engraving because of how much she’d laughed at Ryan’s. And, by the end of the visit to the shop, Gavin felt pretty accomplished and more than a little excited really because with every step he was that much closer to springing the question on his boys and he couldn’t bloody wait to see their faces when he did.

\----

Phase three had been calling Dan and panicking a little more.

His best friend had a little shore leave and it was one of those rare times that Gavin hadn’t been able to come visit him during it, to both their disappointment, but they still had phone calls and skype, both of which Gavin was imagining Dan was regretting a little right now since he’d been trying to talk the Brit down from his mini freak out now for the better part of an hour as he continued to muse over what if they didn’t want to get married yet, or wanted to wait until it was legalized in Austin, or didn’t believe in marriage, or he messed it up so bad that they changed their minds…

And eventually Dan had rolled his eyes at Gavin and had told him, in a tone that brooked no argument, that there was no way in hell the Brit would manage to screw things up badly enough to make his boys say no before going off into a long spiel about the diabetes-inducing looks they gave each other whenever they were in the others presence and how there was no way in hell that these guys were going to say no to anything Gavin suggested, especially if it involved putting a ring on it… which had of course led to a moment of the two of them goofing off and singing a bit of single ladies; loudly, out of key and interspersed with laughter and by the end of that Gavin had felt a little better about the whole situation.

Because maybe Griff, Linds and Dan were right and it’d all go to plan and before long he really would’ve put a ring on his boys that told the whole damn world that they were his… and Gavin couldn’t bloody wait for that.

\----

Phase four, Gavin could admit, had backfired a little…

He’d been planning on setting up something in Achievement City for his boys, intending to pop the question mid-Let’s Play (since Lindsay had wanted to film the proposal as payment for distracting the boys before as well as the countless videos she’d had to edit together with next to no actual footage), and he’d believed he was being pretty stealthy about it…

Until, that was, Michael had arrived home early from the office (since apparently the recording for RWBY had taken a lot less time than either of them had initially thought) and had walked in on Gavin setting up a sign over the top of his handiwork, catching sight of the word ‘marry’ before Gavin had the chance to fully cover it up and the redhead’s breath had suddenly caught in his throat and then…

_Are you really-_

_Yes now shut up you pleb before any of the others hear us._

And after that Michael had muffled his thoughts a little, allowing Gavin to breathe out a sigh of relief, even as he nervously awaited Michael’s reaction because Griffon, Lindsay and Dan had all been so convinced that they’d say yes, but what if…

“Do you even need to fucking ask? Of course I will idiot.” And then the redhead’s lips had been on his and the same sort of bliss they’d both felt when they first met seemed to be coursing through the bond and somehow it was all bloody perfect.

\----

While a part of Gavin couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that Michael now knew about his plans to propose, since he'd wanted it to be a surprise for all of them, another part couldn’t help but feel relieved that he no longer had to keep it a secret from him and that, at least in the redhead’s case, he had a confirmed ‘yes’ for when he did pop the question already on the table… Not that he particularly thought any of his bondmates would say no but… it was still a little nerve wracking to say the least to stand up in front of the men who were, quite literally, woven into your soul, into your very being, and ask them to commit to being with you forever… Okay so maybe it was kind of dumb to be nervous about that since they’d all kind of been committed to each other since the moment they first came into existence but Gavin couldn’t help it. He loved his boys with everything he had and wanted everything about this proposal to be bloody perfect because of it.

Plus, it was a relief to have Michael aboard now as far as the process of planning the proposal, since having the redhead’s support in all this was definitely helping him stay sane. And as he second guessed the rings he’d picked out or the speech he’d wrote, Griffin, Lindsay and Michael (and occasionally Dan) were enough to coax him through those doubts as they moved closer towards the day he’d finally managed to settle on as the day he’d pop the question; the anniversary of the first time they’d all heard Ray’s voice in their heads and had finally been able to talk with all of their bondmates through Lingua Anime...

And he knew the significance of that day hadn’t been lost on Michael when he’d mentioned it given the way the redhead’s lips had curled into an almost uncharacteristically soft smile as he’d agreed to that date, the words ‘fucking sap’ passing over the bond moments later... that the two of them had then been promptly forced to quickly explain away to their other boyfriends as Gavin had elbowed Michael sharply in the ribs for his lack of subtly.

And therein lay the even bigger problem Gavin Free had now that Michael knew what he was planning… because Gavin Free had never been the best at keeping secrets, especially ones as big and as important as this one, but Michael… well Michael was an even bloody worse.

And so, it was nothing short of a miracle (combined with their other boyfriends’ growingly apparent obliviousness) that they hadn’t already been caught in the act of planning out the proposal. Yet, somehow, through a lot of quickly rushed out excuses, that didn't even sound slightly credible, they appeared to be managing it as they continued to plan the proposal.

At one point, Michael had stubbornly insisted on going back to the same shop Gavin had gotten his rings from, telling the Brit that there was no fucking way he wasn’t getting a ring that matched theirs to show the world exactly who he belonged to and Gavin had agreed to his bondmate's demands pretty easily really, especially since Michael was now technically involved in the whole proposing process and so it'd be kind of unfair if he didn't get his own say in it.

The redhead had ended up choosing to include the engraving  _Mea Fatuus_  which had once again set the owner of the shop off into hysterics as Gavin had playfully nudged Michael in the arm and pouted a little, even as he secretly decided the engraving was perfect.

And that’d gone pretty well, they’d hidden the ring with the others when it was ready and no one had known any better… but then Michael’s mind had started to drift towards the hidden ring boxes, or the aborted minecraft proposal attempt, or the fact that gay marriage just so happened to be legal in the UK now and Gavin found himself constantly having to distract their boyfriends from releasing exactly where the redhead’s mind would wander whenever it wasn’t occupied by work or sleep.

It was getting  _bloody ridiculous_  though and Gavin knew that their boyfriends knew something was up… they just hadn’t quite been able to put their finger on exactly what that something was yet, but really it was only a matter of time…

And then Michael, seemingly realizing this and not wanting to spoil things for Gavin, had done the unthinkable and had begun to shut their other bondmates out in order to keep himself from spoiling the surprise and he knew he had to do this now, plan be damned, before they all wound up taking a trip down a part of memory lane that none of them were particularly eager to revisit…

And so, all the plans and rehearsed speeches were set aside, and the Brit had found himself sat at the dinner table with his boys, trying to figure out how best to subtly begin to drop hints into the conversation, to build up towards the ultimate proposal, when suddenly he’d blurted it out. “Will you guys marry me?”

There’d been a silence so great you could’ve heard a pin drop, both audibly and through the psychic bond and, for a horrible moment, he’d been convinced that the others had been wrong and he’d just made a horrible mistake…

But then Ray was in his arms and Ryan was grinning and Jack was laughing at something Michael had either said or thought about the situation, he couldn’t be sure which, nor did he care that much with the euphoria suddenly coursing through his system. It’d been Geoff who’d finally actually said the words, “Of course.”

So perhaps everything didn’t exactly go as planned with the proposal, but that’d ended up having benefits of its own, because Gavin hadn’t even realized at first but the day them getting married would officially go legal in the UK was another anniversary of theirs; the anniversary of the day where they’d finally met Michael and Ray in person and the six halves of their soul had finally become whole.

And so, on the 29th of March, Gavin Free had married his five bondmates in front of their families, friends, coworkers, even a few fans who’d somehow found out about the location of the ceremony and had shown up with banners to congratulate them as they’d arrived for the service.

There’d been a few slight hiccups with both Geoff and Ray forgetting to say half of their vows out loud and Joe, their carefully selected ringbearer, almost running off with said rings halfway through the ceremony. Jack had been the first to cry, Ryan following not long after, and the only one of them who could even pretend to claim to dry eyes at the end was Michael (though they’d looked suspiciously shiny and red-rimmed so none of his bondmates had really bought any of that).

They’d had a reception afterwards with cheesy music, cheesier dancing and almost half of the wedding cake being smushed into Gavin’s face after he’d, mistakenly, tried to push some into Geoff’s. And afterwards, they’d gone to bed to have their ‘wedding night’ and somehow every touch had felt as intense as the first time, perhaps more so, and by the end they’d all been flushed, sated and grinning like idiots as they’d curled up together on the two double beds the hotel had shoved together for them.

In short, everything might not’ve gone exactly as planned with the proposal, but the wedding had been just as  _bloody perfect_ as Gavin had hoped it'd be.


End file.
